1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to making candles. More particularly, this invention relates to a method of easily and efficiently inserting a wick into a candle being formed in a jar-type container, and more particularly still to an apparatus and method for maintaining a candle wick straight and centered while the liquid fuel or wax is being poured and is cured.
2. Preliminary Discussion
The word candle derives from the Latin ‘Candere,’ meaning to flicker or glitter. Prior to about 1825, candles were comprised of a single stranded wick, rather than a braided wick, and therefore burned very unevenly. The introduction of paraffin wax as a cheaper replacement for beeswax as a liquid fuel in the 19th century, as well as the development of means for mass producing of candles, resulted not only in candles becoming common in most households but also made them available in a variety of shapes and sizes.
While such improvements have enabled candle makers to produce candles which are longer lasting and burn more evenly, a continuing challenge for candle makers who manufacture candles ready made in glass jars or other types of containers remains keeping the wick straight during the curing process. Candles produced in closed bottom containers often use wicks incorporating a thin piece of metal running through the core as an anchor and reinforcement for said wick. However, when molten candle wax is poured, it cools and changes from a liquid state to a solid state in an uneven pattern, with more shrinking occurring in the center area of the container than along the sides, leaving the solidified candle with a more or less semi-hollowed out core. This uneven shrinking pattern causes the wick to very frequently become displaced from the center of the container so that it is not only no longer straight, but may even have been displaced so far to the side that it juts out of the wall of the hollowed out portion of the core. When a second round of wax is added to the candle, to fill in the core, it will tend to retain whatever unevenness or curvature that has been imparted to it. If the operator or pourer furthermore attempts to straighten the wick by hand adjustment, between the first and second pours only the top portion of the wick is likely to be affected, leaving any unevenness in the lower portions where it will affect the burning of the candle as it burns down. There is a critical time during which the wick must be inserted into a candle, since the wick will only be able to be inserted when the wax is in its molten state. Thus, there remains a need for an apparatus and method for maintaining a candle wick in a candle jar or container straight and centered in the container during the pouring of liquid fuel such as paraffin into the container.
The present inventor has solved the problem of maintaining straight wicks in candles formed in jars and the like by providing a straight tube having a sealed top into the lower end of which a wick is placed. The wick tube is then placed in molten wax in the jar and supported on the lip of the jar by a sliding crosspiece. A normal bottom anchor is attached to the bottom of the wick to secure it in the wax. After solidification of the wax, the wick tube or sleeve is withdrawn from the solidified wax, leaving a straight wick in a relatively straight orifice, which can then be filled with molten wax in a second pour. Wax is excluded from the tube during solidification of the wax by air trapped in the tube. Relatively little sideways force is applied to the wick during the second pour so it remains relatively straight even though no longer contained in the straight tube of the invention.
3. Description of Related Art
While candles are no longer required for light in this modern age of electricity, as they were by the Ancient Egyptians and Romans, and during the Middle Ages, candles are still widely used for ornamental and decorative purposes. Candle makers have created many styles and kinds of new candles that come in an assortment of shapes, colors and designs. A very common practice now is forming or making candles in glass jars or containers. These self-enclosed candles allow users to neatly burn them without the need for candlesticks and enable users to move them around more easily. However, these candles have posed a problem for candle makers during the pouring process because they are not able to keep the wick straight in the same manner as is used for candles not contained in a jar or container. Consequently, new devices and methods have been developed to try to overcome the problem of wick straightness. However, none of the related art in this field has supplied a method or reusable device that enables a candle maker to easily and efficiently insert a wick and guarantees that it maintains its vertical position as well as the present inventor's device.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,752,433 issued to M. R. Berman on Aug. 14, 1973, entitled “TRANSLUCENT PLASTIC CANDLE MOLD,” discloses a mold comprised of a container into which wax is poured having a hole in the closed end through which the wick is passed from the bottom. The top end of the wick is attached or tied to a solid bar placed across the top of the open end of the container so that it is pulled taut. After the wax is poured and dried, the wick is untied from the bar, and the bar is then removed. While Berman is somewhat useful in maintaining the wick straight and centered, the candles in Berman are poured into jars and containers having holes through the bottom, and in addition the wick must be tied and untied from the bar on top of the jar, which can be a time costly procedure. Simply cutting the wick would also lead to wasted materials and therefore an increase in production costs.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,759,478 issued to H. A. Schmitt et al. on Sep. 18, 1973 entitled “CANDLE MOLD,” discloses a method of inserting a hardened inner core into a candle mold. The inner core is centered on the candle mold by matching the hole in the candle mold up to the hole in the inner core. A wick is then strung through a small hole in the bottom of the candle mold, and is then passed through the inner core. A piece of tape is used on the bottom of the candle mold to prevent wax from spilling out the bottom of the mold. The wick is wrapped around a removable horizontal bar attached to the top of the mold. When molding of the candle is completed, the wick is detached from the bar and the candle is removed from the mold. Schmitt et al. does not teach a device for making candles in a jar or container, and in addition, manually stringing the wick through the core is a time costly procedure.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,998,922 issued to T. H. Weiss on Dec. 21, 1976, entitled “METHOD OF MAKING A CANDLE IN A CONTAINER,” discloses a candle making method wherein a metal rod having a sheet metal plate detachably connected to its lower end, whereby the sheet metal plate acts as a wick base, is placed in a candle jar filled with molten wax, and the wax is left to harden. Once the wax has hardened, the rod is removed, and a wick is inserted into the hole left in the wax by the metal rod and inserted into the sheet metal plate, which lies along the bottom of the jar. A small amount of wax is then poured into the jar to hold the wick to the wax. Such method is slow and cumbersome because the wick must be manually threaded down through the candle and into the wick base, which task is inefficient and time consuming.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,004,773 issued to W. R. Binder on Jan. 25, 1977, entitled “CANDLE MOLD,” discloses a mold comprised of a barrel having a removable wick base and end cap on one end. The end cap has a centrally located hole that is aligned with a hole in the wick base, which rests upon the end cap. A wick is fitted through such holes and extends upwardly into the barrel, where it is retained in a taut manner by a wick pin or holder. Wax is then poured into the barrel surrounding the taut wick, after which the wick is released from the wick holder, the flexible end cap is removed from the barrel, and the candle is pulled off the end cap. Such method is not applicable to candles formed in jars or containers.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,939,005 issued to K. C. Materna on Aug. 17, 1999, entitled “CANDLE FORMING METHOD,” discloses a method wherein a wick holder and wick are positioned centrally in a candle holding container, said holder having a vertically extending sleeve around the wick. Wax is then poured into the container around the sleeve, so that the wick is centered within the sleeve, within the candle. When the wax is partially hardened, the sleeve is removed, and the molten wax then surrounds the wick. The Materna device varies from the present inventor's apparatus in that the Materna device must be removed while the wax is only partially hardened, not after the wax has completely cooled and hardened. The present inventor's wick holder or straightening device is also more efficient and easier to use because it does not need to be removed during any crucial time, since the sleeve can be removed late in the cooling stage or hours or even days after complete cooling has occurred. In addition, the Materna sleeve is open rather than closed at its upper end, so that wax can begin to seep up the wick during hardening, while the present device utilizes an automatically pressurized gas in the top of the tube to prevent such seepage, so that the sleeve does not have to be cleared or cleaned of hardened wax after each use, since wax is prevented from coming into contact with the wick during the entire curing process.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,090,331 issued to R. F. Schwarz et al. on Jul. 18, 2000, entitled “METHOD OF MANUFACTURING GEL CANDLES HAVING NON-METAL CORE WICKS,” discloses a method of keeping a wick upright when it is submerged in a gel candle body. A wick clip containing a non-metal core wick is centered on the bottom of the jar or container using magnetic material ensuring that the non-metal core wick is substantially aligned with the longitudinal axis. A guide may be used to leave space for the insertion of a non-metal core wick after the gel is poured, but before it is completely cooled. The non-metal core wick is then fed through the hole left by the guide and inserted into the wick clip. Such method is similar to the previously discussed method of inserting the wick after the gel has partially solidified. Although this invention allows the wick to be centered, which is important in candle making, it does not account for the forces applied to the wick after the wax is poured, since it is designed for use with gel candles rather than wax candles.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,151,767 issued to W. Gross on Nov. 28, 2000 entitled “MAKING CANDLES,” discloses a method of creating a passage within a candle through which a wick may be strung after the wax has been poured into the mold and hardened. A core element containing a rod is inserted from the lower wall of a candle mold. The wax is then poured into the candle mold and allowed to harden. The core element is then pushed up and out of the candle mold, whereafter a wick is strung through the passageway left behind by the core element. Additional molten wax is then added to fill the cavity and secure the wick in place. The presented design makes use of a core element that is removed, but it is not inserted through the bottom of a mold and removed out of the top. Instead, it is placed into a jar or container then retrieved after the wax has cured and hardened.
Although each of the above apparatus and methods may have its own utility, none of such arrangements teaches an apparatus and method for maintaining the wick of a candle straight and centered during the curing process as well as keeping the installed wick completely dry from the molten wax during the curing process in the manner of the present invention.